by Richard Engle 

Though only garnering a small percentage of the popular vote in the Presidential Preference Primary, supporters of Ron Paul and his libertarian leaning message are poised to make a serious impact on the state Republican Convention and have already won a number of spots in the state’s national delegation at District Conventions. 

This development has alarmed some and excited others.  For many establishment Republicans, the fear is that these newcomers would take control or leverage some amount of control for themselves. They further fear that they are displacing those “establishment types” and some have suggested they will embarrass the state party at the national convention in Minnesota this summer.

 A more genuine concern is the potential to end the conservative dominance of the party replacing it with Libertarianism, which has been defined by some as “conservative humanism.” I have been privy to an email version of a letter, which called on all long term Republicans in Oklahoma to reject these liberty loving Republicans as “not conservative.” The great problem with this reactionary letter is that it does not define any differences between conservative and libertarian philosophy.  I am convinced that few Oklahoma Republicans have working definition of conservativism let alone one for libertarianism. I would suggest that the conservative movement has divided itself into two camps.  Neo-conservativism is the camp that holds sway in much of the national party, and what I will term Values-conservativism has been much more popular in Oklahoma.  Both branches of conservativism agree in several areas such as a desire for less government, support of our military and strong national defense, and opposition to wasteful spending. Values-conservatives place great emphasis on being pro-life, pro-traditional family, opposed to judicial activism, and support for private property rights including the right to bear arms.  More importantly, Values-conservatives go beyond the generic goal of “less government” to the premise of “limited government”.  Limited government infers that government has no proper authority to do many things, even if it can or does do it quite well or efficiently.  Limited government suggests that government is to be restricted beyond the will of the populace and only to those matters authorized it in the Constitution.  Some would even go so far as to suggest that government at any level is acting the tyrant if it does anything that does not protect one or more of the three specified inalienable rights.  Government, they would say, may only protect life, liberty and property and any other activity is illegitimate regardless of popular support or the vote of a public body. Neo-conservatives (or neo-cons as they have come to be known) do not have the automatic opposition to government activities if they are convinced that such activity is the best and most efficient way to accomplish a worthy goal.  Neo-cons support all the economic development schemes we have seen of late, they have no desire to see a resurgence of federalism (states rights) except inasmuch as variations among the states can be an efficient workshop for trying different programs, and neo-cons do not share George Washington’s concerns about entangling alliances on the international front. As neither version of conservativism could establish a governing majority a natural alliance formed.  Each would say of the other that they are fine as far as they go on this matter or that but are wary of going further on other areas. 

Enter the Libertarians

 Upsetting the balance are these “Ron Paul libertarians” who in many ways share ideals with the Values-conservatives.  They have much less in common with the neo-cons.  

With this insurgency we face a third faction within the party.  If the “Paul” forces stay in the GOP for the foreseeable future they will still not be able to garner a majority in the party unless they can miraculously create a highly effective and organized recruiting program.  They can only be empowered if they create strong working relationships with the Values-conservatives. 

 Already this coalition among Values-conservatives and the liberty-loving Republicans has begun to blur the line between them.  I predict that this Liberty-Values Coalition will have long-term implications on Oklahoma’s political scene. I have been closely associated with the supporters of Ron Paul while keeping my distance because of some serious public policy concerns.  My business shares office space with the business office of Rep. Charles Key (R-OKC) who was quite active in the Paul campaign.  I have had the opportunity to get to know and to debate many of the leaders of the Paul campaign.  From experience, I can say without equivocation, that these are not the pot smoking, tax evading, anarchists that have been known to exist in the Libertarian Party.  They are Republican libertarians.  They are pro-life, as is Congressman Paul.  They oppose the international use of military force without a formal declaration of war but they are not opposed to a strong national defense.   Having said that, there are some areas of public policy that are often supported by libertarians that cause great concern for Values-conservatives like myself.  The most important example of this is that despite the lack of a Declaration of War (which could have and should have been passed) we can’t pull out of Iraq short of a definable victory.   This new group of liberty-loving Republicans also don’t have the institutional knowledge of the party, which has great value.  Like the many influxes of new activists in the past they are largely impatient, wanting change faster than a republican form of government may be able to act.  Finally, they do not appear to be in general agreement among themselves when it comes to state and local public policy. GOP leaders (both elected and those of internal influence) should welcome this influx of activism.  It is an opportunity to grow in energy, funding and in ideas.  It is refreshing to seriously contemplate our founding principles in public discourse.  This should be commonplace, and our state and nation would be better if the constitution was actually quoted in most (if not all) public policy discussions.  The principle of federalism has great importance, but Values-conservatives like myself have too often bought into the premise that the federal government should accomplish some things, which the Constitution reserves to the states.   Sadly, some of the Values-conservatives who have acted in the best interest of the party by having open arms to these liberty-loving Republicans have been falsely tagged as “Libertarian” and even as “divisive.”   State GOP Vice Chair, Cheryl Williams, was identified on one website as a leader in the Ron Paul libertarian movement because she was inclusive of these people even though she is openly concerned about some of their public policy stands and does not consider herself a libertarian in the proper or ideological manner.  James Dunn, the GOP candidate for Attorney General last time around, and a current candidate for National Committeeman has also been falsely tagged.   James was an open advocate for Gov. Mike Huckabee for President.  Despite this he has also been accused of being in league with the Paul forces.  In the midst of his effective efforts to recruit the support of what is likely to be the largest single contingent of the state convention, James has been also accused of being divisive to the party! The accusations against Dunn and Williams are hypocritical doublespeak.  Here we have some long term loyal Republican leaders who have worked to stretch the “big tent” just a bit to the right so as to be inclusive of these new and needed energetic Republican workers. And they are being accused of dividing the party?  What they are doing is building the party.   

When the party is built the newcomers always want to do more than just be foot soldiers.  They always want to have influence as well.  This is normal and should be accepted.

 Richard Engle is a Republican Candidate for County Commission in Canadian County.  He is the Vice President of the Oklahoma Conservative PAC and is the Immediate Past President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies.  He can be reached at Engle@MrGOP.com and his campaign website is www.Engle4Commissioner.com . 

Here is how it would work.  No more announcing who the BCS and Championship players are at the same time.  Instead slightly revise the current system as follows.  Rose Bowl is between the PAC 10 and Big 10 champs, no runner up, the conference champs only. Fiesta is Big 12 vs TBD, Sugar is SEC vs TBD, Orange is ACC vs TBD.  The Big East Champ would play in one of the three bowls (so far little new) and the other 2 would be filled by a winner of the other bowls who also won in their respective conference.  This would create two wild cards for the remaining 2 games.

Eight teams, 6 as champs in the current BCS conferences and 2 wild cards.  Notre Dame currently gets an automatic slot if in the top 8.  In this scenerio they would also have to win a bowl in post season play.

This would do several very good things but not reshuffle the deck in such a way as the powers that be would have cause to refuse it.  Indeed they might just love it!  Instead of the Rose Bowl having to settle for 2nd best in the Big 10 they still get USC vs Ohio State and the winner might just get the Championship as well.  The wild cards would be the teams who won their conference and bowl and (if more than 2) use some computerized formula regarding win/loss ratio and ranking.  Once the 4 bowls reduce the 8 teams to 4 you have 2 final games.  Winner of Sugar and Orange play in the “Tang” (sugar with orange flavor) bowl and the winners of the Rose and Fiesta play another. Both “finals” are just a week later after the BCS bowls are done.  Then, the Championship is between the 2 still standing.  With this system you add only one game for a few and 2 games for a couple of teams.  By mid-January you have a Champion who earned it!

Perhaps this limits the access of teams not in the 6 automatic conferences but those conferences control the BCS and they will never choose an outsider without this system.  With this system you don’t create a long second season which would take away significantly from the NCAA’s academic goals.  It allows a Hawaii (or Boise State or Fresno State or whoever is the phenomenen of the year) to go all the way and win against all comers.  For fans of any of the teams in the 6 BCS conferences it allows your champion to win the national title regardless of a single loss.

It is said that a camel is a horse designed by committee.  Most often our laws are like the camel in that they are a compromise designed by persons of variant goals.  Sadly, over time new ‘committees’ engage themselves in fixing the problems created by the previous.  Seldom are efforts engaged to scrap the oft-remodeled camel and get a horse.

Oklahoma’s campaign finance laws are no exception, and lately the public have been inundated by the media with purported, significant and even a few fabricated campaign finance violations.  The call has now gone out for the state legislature to ‘fix’ our campaign reporting laws to prevent the abuses. 

What exactly are the abuses?  Well, we are faced with straw donors, where a ‘fat cat’ evades the limits by getting others to accept and then donate money at their direction.  We also find excessive influence by PAC’s and their lobbyists.  Overall the process seems murky at best when transparency would be preferred.

Rep. David Dank (R-OKC) is proposing the Oklahoma Clean Campaign Act of 2008.  “Clean Campaign” laws in other states have been a variety of government expansion and even public funding.  Evidence is scant of any of them reducing government, increasing personal liberty, or creating a system that is truly accountable to the public.  Dank’s proposal increases the size and scope of government, reduces the liberty of individuals, and does not create a system (on the donation side at least) that is transparent.

Nonetheless, Rep. Dank’s efforts at reform seem well intended and for the most part would not be harmful to the situation, but some are concerned that his proposal would not actually solve any problems and there is significant reason to believe that it would be found unconstitutional. 

Keith Gaddie, University of Oklahoma Political Science professor expressed such concerns in an editorial for the October 3, 2007 Oklahoma Gazzette.  He articulates that, “The basic problems in campaign finance are not fixed by limiting money in politics, but in ensuring that the process is transparent.”  He continued, “People don’t trust what they can’t see, especially when it comes to slick politicians with complex explanations for why they did something that looks wrong.” 

Gaddie goes on to suggest a simple solution, “Disclosure works”!

Gaddie is not the first and this article will not be the last of the innumerable calls for a reduction in campaign finance limitations to be replaced with full disclosure.

Let us examine the likely effects of a full disclosure law in Oklahoma.  PAC’s will diminish in influence, as donors will not need to give through a PAC what they could give directly.  Straw donors become a thing of history as soon as the Governor signs the bill. Most importantly, the process becomes amazingly transparent as the full disclosure law lets every voter see every donation without having to cut through a maze of organizations to discover the source of the funds.  The less funded campaign will have the opportunity to advertise openly that their well-heeled opponent is “bought and paid for” by a certain industry or super-rich individual.  The reality is that limitations on the wealthy of their political activities (like giving or spending money) are not constitutional and can’t be enforced.  All we do by creating the limitations we now have is give those same people a myriad number of ways to hide their influence. 

Even under Oklahoma’s current system we do have some limits on the donor. Limits which would likely fall in a court challenge if a donor chooses to pursue such a course.  With only 149 (101 in the state house and 48 in the state senate) legislative races a very wealthy person is limited to $745,000 per year.  That is $5000 per candidate per year.  Not many donors are ready to give that much anyway.  However, at the current undisclosed $50 limits, I could give $14,900 per 2-year election cycle to legislative candidates of my choice and probably an equal amount to PAC’s that support my candidates. And I could do so without anyone (other than the candidates and PAC’s) knowing I even gave a dime! 

A full disclosure law would require every donor at every amount be reported.  And to make sure that the voters have an opportunity to turn down a politician who is excessively influenced by a special interest, I would suggest a limit of ten days or so prior to an election during which campaigns would be prohibited from receiving any additional funds from any source.

Such full disclosure can be required to be instant for larger amounts and within a very short timeline for smaller and aggregate amounts.  Placing such reporting of campaign funding on an Ethics Commission website would be a great public service. 

Oh, there will be those who have grown attached to the camel and don’t want the efficiency, speed or beauty of a thoroughbred horse.  Fortunately, we have 49 other states with campaign law experience to compare ourselves to.  It is simple to look at those states and see if greater liberty and smaller government have had ill effects.

It will surprise few to learn that only a handful of states have more restrictions on campaign fundraising than Oklahoma does.  This according to www.fec.gov, the Federal Election Commission government website. It further shows that 14 states do not limit individual contributions at all.  Nearly every other state (44) has more liberty for candidates and campaigns than does Oklahoma.  Families of candidates are freer to give as they choose in 21 states.  There is greater freedom regarding party giving in 24 other states.

Corporations are free to participate on behalf of their stockholders in 30 states, 5 of which are completely unlimited.  PAC’s have no limits in 14 other states.

Indeed there are 5 states in which political funding is basically unrestricted in every way.  In Illinois the only limitations have to do with the judiciary.  In Utah campaign finance is unlimited except for Insurance corporations.  There are no limits whatsoever in New Mexico, Oregon or Virginia.  North to South, East to West, large and small states have greater liberty than does Oklahoma.  Yet so many look to greater government control as a fix.

I do not hold so poor an image of the voter that I presume they must be protected from themselves by a paternalistic government agency with rules they have not the funding nor the inclination to enforce in an honest and even handed manner. 

 The time has come for full and unlimited campaign finance disclosure.

“The Legislature hereby finds that the production of films in Oklahoma not only provides jobs for Oklahomans and dollars for Oklahoma businesses, but also enhances the state’s image nationwide. Recognizing that the high costs of film production are driving motion picture and television production out of the country, most notably to Canada, and that the film industry is always seeking attractive locations that can help cut the costs of production, the Legislature further finds that the State of Oklahoma, with the appropriate incentive, can become an attractive site for film production and that Oklahoma is presently among several states with minimal incentives to attract the film industry. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature that Oklahoma provide an incentive that will stand out among those of other states and increase film production in this state.”

Thus begins a section in an Oklahoma law called the “Compete with Canada Film Act.” This is just one of the many sections tucked away in the thousands of pages of Oklahoma statutes providing a way for one specific group of people to assert a claim to the state treasury at the expense of the taxpayers. Specifically, this law provides a taxpayer funded rebate to Oklahoma’s film producers.
I, like most Oklahomans, was mostly unaware of this particular misuse of tax dollars until this year when the Legislature was faced with taking action to make it much easier for those who produce films to lay claim to this rebate.
Established in 2001, the “Compete with Canada Film Act” was touted as being ‘cutting edge’ by those who supported it. In fact, some in the Oklahoma Senate claimed that the act would be triple the highest incentive of any state in the country. The bill’s author insinuated the bill would create a new industry in Oklahoma, thus enhancing job opportunities for Oklahoma students. It was  and said that the bill’s passage would produce results similar to the state getting a professional sports franchise.
The law provides a 15-percent cash-back incentive on money spent in the state for movie or television production. In other words, the taxpayers would pick up 15% of the film production company’s costs of doing business so long as that money was spent in Oklahoma. In order to qualify for that rebate, film makers had to have a budget for their film of at least $1 million.
Believe it or not, despite the successful passage of the legislation and the grandiose claims of the new law’s author, there was not a significant increase in the number of high quality films being made in Oklahoma. This was despite the fact that $375,000 was placed into the state film commission’s account for the obvious purpose of encouraging film production. Not only was the Oklahoma program largely unsuccessful, but other states began the process of passing their own legislation providing government largess to film makers as a way of enticing films to be created in their respective states. This led to a race among the states as they fought to be first in line when it came time to dole out the biggest benefits to film makers.
Instead of seeing the program as a failure, the Oklahoma rebate supporters began lobbying the Legislature to set aside a sizable block of funding for the rebate. In supporting this action, the director of the Oklahoma Film and Music Commission stated that “four or five films were ready to come into Oklahoma,” and a $5 million expenditure would more than cover the rebate money for those films.
In lobbying for the expenditure of more money, the argument was used that because other states were now competing with Oklahoma, it was important that a significant amount of money be set aside for this purpose. A group known as  “The Oklahoma Film Project,” led by a trio of Tulsa citizens aligned with Hollywood movie executives, studio experts and technical companies announced that they were ready to disclose comprehensive plans to make Oklahoma one of the world’s leading film centers. The group held a Capitol press conference saying they would announce a comprehensive plan to lure domestic and international film makers to Oklahoma, if the Legislature voted to better fund the 15% film incentive rebates that were approved in the “Compete with Canada Film Act.”
In 2005 the legislature gave in to these arguments and set aside $5 million of our taxpayer dollars in a revolving account that would be replenished each year. The money was placed on a first-come, first-serve basis for the expected flood of film makers who would want to claim the funds. At the same time, the Legislature required that instead of a $1 million budget, the film company would need a $2 million dollar budget with $1.25 million of that to be spent in Oklahoma in order for them to claim the rebate.
So, what was the result of this action?
The $5 million of tax rebates have yet to be used! Not one dollar has been paid out.
Once again, the exciting claims of those seeking to tap the taxpayer dollar proved to be false. Perhaps this was the best possible outcome to this situation, as the taxpayers’ costs appear to have been mostly limited to the bureaucracy involved in overseeing a failed program and not incurred in paying out these targeted corporate welfare benefits.
Instead of acknowledging that the program was a failure, the Legislature decided to tweak the law by approving Senate Bill 623. The legislation will go into effect in August and will make it easier for the film industry to take the money. Instead of requiring the film production company to spend at least $1.25 million in Oklahoma, the law will now only require that $300,000 be spent. The barrier requiring that the subsidized film be part of a recognizable distribution agreement will be lifted in some cases. And, requirements that the film production company hire Oklahomans have been lessened.
In arguing for the lessening of these restrictions, the Director of the Oklahoma Film Commission stated that Oklahoma should no longer try to focus on recruiting big name productions, but should instead focus on “small independents.”
So, for a third time, those wanting taxpayer subsidies for film producers have a new opportunity to take our money. Hopefully the program will once again be unsuccessful and the Legislature will take the common sense step of closing the program down.  More likely, the fact that throwing our money at something didn’t work will result in a claim that we didn’t throw enough money at it, and that we must advertise the availability of “Free Money.” Perhaps we will subsidize the joker who does the commercials for his “Free Money” books and he will say something like, “Get money to video your kids in the backyard!”
It is immoral for big government to use its power to take from us through high taxes and fees and give to other individuals and corporations. But the consequences and moral arguments don’t stop there.
Perhaps you are wondering why someone in the film industry would have any more right to force the taxpayers to pick up 15% of the cost of their business than those who work in any other industry. Most small business owners would certainly attest to the fact that they would greatly benefit if the state were to pick up 15% of their cost of doing business. As for myself, I own an independent telephone directory publishing business.  Telephone directories are the only medium subject to sales tax (for advertising sales) in the state.
Why should local publishers subsidize Hollywood morals, or lack thereof? Rep. John Wright (R-Broken Arrow) suggested to me that subsidizing movies such as the Christian movie “Through the Gates of Splendor” produced by the billionaire owners of Hobby Lobby and Mardel would be a good thing. OK, when is the state going to erase the tax on my medium and subsidize my business? When I am a powerful billionaire? I won’t hold my breath.
Not all subsidized movies will be Christian or even good. Indeed as revealed by Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore), who supported the new even worse bill, an unelected commission has been established to ensure that illegal obscenities and illegal child porn will not be eligible for the subsidy. No such protection against legal pornography, or other immoral leaning films.
One could even suggest that the porn industry is exactly the target of these subsidies.  Pornographic films make up the lions share of movie titles produced, yet create hardly a blip on the radar screen when it comes to production costs.  While no exact figures seem to be available, some estimates are as much as 70% of films produced have strong sexual content. Most porn films are made by the targeted “small independents.”
Instead of trying to grow the economy by subsidizing what the Legislature deems to be in our best interest, Oklahoma’s lawmakers should allow us to decide who is successful through our power as consumers. The proper focus of Oklahoma legislators should be lowering taxes and government regulation. This would enable those in all occupations to have a greater chance at success.
Most disappointing is the fact that only six state senators and three state representatives had the character to oppose this boondoggle. We should all express our appreciation for those nine lawmakers.  Representatives Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie), Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City), Mike Reynolds (R-Oklahoma City) and Senators Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso), Bill Brown (R-Broken Arrow), Todd Lamb (R-Edmond), Owen Laughlin (R-Woodward), Anthony Sykes (R-Moore), and Kathleen Wilcoxson (R-Oklahoma City) voted in opposition. Otherwise, our efforts which elected a GOP majority to the Oklahoma House and created an even split in the Senate are not represented here.

Richard Engle is the President of BellWest America, and of the Assembly Education Fund. He serves as Oklahoma’s Commissioner of Archives and Records and is the Immediate Past President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. Engle may be reached via email at Engle@MrGOP.com

That has been the most common response to my announcement regarding the trip.  Not many Oklahoma families fly to Europe, rent an RV and drive throughout Eastern Europe.  But the Engle’s are. 

 The concept is to fly into Munich and rent the RV there, then drive through the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, back through Slovakia, through Austria and back to Germany for the return.  For an experienced world traveler that might not be so challenging but despite my Polish heritage the number of words we know of Polish or any of the dominant languages in the lands we are traveling to is limited to the number of fingers and toes I have.  Perhaps, not quite that many. In my case, international travel has been limited to a week in the Bahamas, another in Canada and a couple of quick border crossings into Mexico.   Each of us (it seems I am the only one to actually do so) intends to write our impressions at least daily to compile something that may be instructive or at least entertaining for others.  More likely it will simply serve to help us remember how we felt at the moment.  Memories fade and often the best specific experience loses its details and only the impression remains.   As I sit at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport I wonder what adventure awaits us.  As the man of the house and principle driver I wonder if I will inadvertently violate some law.  Will we experience any health difficulties?  Will some leftover of the Cold War give us difficulties at the border?  Will the Engle family find themselves the inspiration for the next National Lampoon vacation movie? Not to worry, I have confidence.  After all we survived months of effort to plan the trip, hours on hold with various travel related vendors, word that our flight to the coast is delayed and thereby we would miss the connection to Europe (but they decided to hold the overseas flight for us) and worst of all; the airport security. How many is four? 

Cultural distinctions are a big part of why we are going but also a big part of what intimidates me.  After reading several books and perusing more websites than I should have shaken a mouse at I wonder which of the warnings are really true.  For example, the word is that the use of fingers to communicate a number is different in Europe.  Whereas Americans who would like one piece of pizza would put their index finger up and for two would add the middle finger.  On the other hand, Europeans start with the thumb and add the index finger for a second.  We will see, but there seems to be a failure in the system when you try to imagine asking for four of anything.  OK, the ‘thumb is one’ system seems to be reality but still not sure how to communicate other numbers.

 Germany:

Landing at Munich we are first hit with the actual name, which is Munchen but pronounced in the first syllable exactly as Americans have but the second is “chen”.  We were not even corrected when we pronounced it in the ordinary manner or when we first attempted (with a short ‘u’) the proper name.  It does not take long to get it right.

Speaking of pronunciation.  You will quickly find that the more British version of the language is useful, absent the accent.   Use “caravan” over “RV”, “petrol” over “gas” ect.  Another trick is to limit the words used when requesting something.  Whole sentences are better at home; simple requests like “water closet?” make more sense over here. Additionally, if inquiring about a matter and not getting a response use a synonym.  English is a compilation of several languages; most significantly Germanic and Latin, so using a synonym will often find a word that is closer to their own. 

The impression of Germans as quality addicts seems to bear out.  Everything is well built and largely over engineered.  Bavarian people are friendly enough but not so curious about Americans as we tend to be about visiting foreigners.  They respond well to efforts to communicate but they always say they don’t speak English well yet often speak better than many American youth. 

You may introduce yourself with “Good Morning”, “Hello”, or such and if they have any English knowledge they will respond.  If they ignore you and move on then you can assure yourself that this person is truly monolingual.

The hotel shuttle was quality transportation but a cab is less expensive for those with 3 or more persons.  Taxi rates are fixed.  Best value, sensibility and safety are found in the public transit if it can get you to where you need to go.  A taxi/public transit combo is what we used. 

When first on the ground you need to get some local currency.  At home you are lucky to find me with two dollars in my pocket.  In Europe cash is still king.  Credit cards have very little acceptance, Debit cards must have the “Maestro” version of Master Card and traveler’s cheques are worthless.  Places that will accept credit cards may not display the logos on the door as is done in the US.  I recommend that you take out your card only and show it to whomever you make eye contact with first.  You will quickly get a nod revealing your options.  If they see you have cash they may deny that a card can be used even if it can.  If you inquire as to why they don’t take cards the ordinary response is “3%”, the fee charged to accepting businesses.  It doesn’t seem to matter that they may well sell much more than 3% more if they did.

 Competition among business is not as price conscious as at home.  In Germany at least competition is done on quality factors instead.  Not ‘what you get for the money’ but “how good does it get”. My expectation was that variations in political and religious ideas would be most significant but was found to be in error.  While these have developed far differently between the continents human nature is unchanged.  Of course, my travels took me to the more religiously devout and socially conservative portions of Europe and may have found more similarities than I would have found elsewhere.  What is required is to keep such conversations on the ideal rather than the specific.  Personally, I am highly active in politics and my degree is in theology.  Any conversation I have is bound to approach one of these taboo subjects in some manner.  Defending the reputation of a particular elected official or describing your favorite flavor of America’s ‘Baskin/Robbins’ versions of Christianity will not work.  Instead let a conversation naturally go to the underlying ideal.  If it doesn’t go there without effort on your part then you will cease to communicate and may get the brush off. We had been in contact by email with the son of the friend of a friend who lives in Munich.  He was quick to avail himself to taking us to a store where we could equip the RV as needed for an extended stay.  He owns a computer related business, which has become successful.  When discussing my observation that Bavarian villages were quite compact and attractive he suggested that it was a cultural concept, and that they would not sprawl as Americans would.  Still, my curiosity queried that someone would purchase some part of the adjoining farmland and build a home just beyond the village limits.  His response was that the use of land is highly regulated.  Agricultural land may not be converted to residential use without fulfilling a long process so as to keep growth slow.   He told me that if private agricultural lands could be converted to homes and large lots that his small but highly populated nation would look like one enormous American suburb with “people everywhere!”   This sounds much more political than cultural to me.  While the democratically elected officials have not altered the regulations on land use and such is presumably supported by the majority, his contention was that if permitted Germans would spread themselves out as Americans do.  If this was only a cultural distinction then it simply would not be done, but he suggested that it would be done if not restrained.  I then asked if his business is as highly regulated and he let me know that it is a new industry and regulation has not reached it as yet.  I asked if the lack of regulation was important to him in entering and succeeding in his industry.  At this he thought for only a moment, made the connection and replied, “But I like the green spaces!”   This shows me that people are the same everywhere.  For themselves, their businesses and their homes everyone is a libertarian.  For controlling what someone else does most are something far different. One matter that is cultural and not controlled by regulation are the variations of habits at restaurants.  Americans drink water (most preferably, ice water) with their meals even when having another beverage.  Europeans do not and if they do it is bottled water.  A significant factor in this is that restaurants do not make any money on giving water away.  While you may find beer or wine to be the same price as a soft drink (and a bottle of water the same as well) you will not find water at your table to be considered an appropriate part of table service.  I made it my personal goal to educate several servers that a glass full of ice with tap water is a valued thing among Americans.  They simply think it to be outside their cultural existence.  The European resistance to using very much ice in a beverage is understood, as it can dilute upon meltdown.  However, not filling a glass with ice when tap water (which the ice was made from) continues to boggle the mind.   At one point I convinced a server to give me a full glass of ice but could not convince her to put tap water in the glass.  Instead she gave me another glass full of tap water, with no room for ice.  Another time I could not convince the restaurant to put tap water in my glass at all but they would give me a glass full of ice and I proceeded to the water closet to fill it.  My wife was embarrassed but when very thirsty you will do what you need to do.   In case you are wondering, there is no Central/East Europe version of Montezuma’s revenge.  I suppose it would be called ‘Lenin’s Revenge’.  The water from the tap is fine.  Unlike the expectation you would have in Mexico you can drink the water and the restaurants certainly cook, clean and make ice from it.  Additional distinctions include the fact that there is never a free refill of anything.  Your bill will not come until the table has been completely cleared and the expectation of the restaurant is for you to remain for long periods of time.  They do not look to use the table again that evening. We stayed at an airport area hotel for about 50 Euros per night per room.  Adding a cot in one room would have been 85 Euros so we opted for two rooms.  The “NH Munchen Hotel” is quite modern and a bit institutional in feel but quite a bargain at the price we paid.  As we were picking up the RV the next day we choose to head into the city for the remainder of the day to sightsee.  Taking the subway to Marienplatz we came up out of the subway and back several centuries that said like nothing else, “you really are in Europe”.  For a first time visitor to the continent there is not a better experience.  The clock in the square gives a performance not to be missed, on the hour.  We had no difficulty finding many interesting things to keep us busy, happy and awake.  Staying awake is vital.  Jet lag will get you if you don’t force yourself to stay awake until the evening. 

You just have to go with the flow sometimes

 Other times you just pull your hair out.  Even when language is not a barrier you can run into obstacles that simply cannot be moved.  In our case we contracted to rent the RV beginning at 9AM in the morning and it was not available to us until nearly 5PM.  This gave us time to visit with our German friends.  It also meant not getting on the road anywhere close to the expectation and thereby not stopping for the night until late.  Just a bit too late. Unlike America campgrounds do not fill up they just squeeze more people in.  Also distinct is that you may not simply pull in and find a spot if you arrive late.  They close and lock the gate by 10PM.  If you arrive later (even moments later) then you will not plug in for the night.  That difficulty being understood one would be surprised to note that parking in parking spots is readily accepted.   Departing Munchen for Prague (Praha) the natural first place to go for the night is Regensburg.  Anyone who knows me knows that I would most certainly be drawn toward a city with a name even remotely comparable to the name of my favorite US President.  It should at this point be mentioned that camping in Europe is not a way to get away from cities but a reasonably low cost method of visiting them.  Therefore campgrounds are placed in cities rather than away from them.  Reservations are not needed and to a great extent not available.  We pulled into Regensburg just prior to 10 but didn’t find the campsite until the hour had passed, the gate locked and our carriage turned into the proverbial pumpkin. Well, after some difficulties we reversed out of the drive, back into the street and went looking for a good parking place.  Street parking was an option but a parking lot in front of a public swimming pool sounded better.  No sooner than we pulled in did a half dozen other camp rejects join us for the night.  Waking with the sun (as is my habit when camping) I found that the parking lot also had been locked down with all of us in.  Not a problem for any others as they had arrived at the destination of choice.  The swimming pool was actually quite the resort style spa.  They were looking forward to a day at the pool proceeded by a grand spectacle of a public event.  It seems during the night the streets surrounding the ad-lib campground were converted into an arena for the start of a popular, once per year marathon.  In short order the streets would be full of runners and their fans from all over the nation and we would be stuck behind them even if the gate were unlocked.  I wandered about for quite some time in my efforts to find a person who could unlock the gate to allow our escape.  When finally we were released we narrowly escaped the crowd control barricades locking us in again.  Not that another day in Bavaria would have hurt but it was simply not our plan.  We were grateful that we could move on and enjoyed the early morning adrenalin rush of slipping out at the last moment. We now needed to find a way to stop in one of the many beautiful Bavarian villages to compose ourselves with coffee and some breakfast.  We found just such village at the first one we tried.  They are all so charming and accommodating that any would have been equally fine.  We managed to fit into a street parking spot with minimal sidewalk coverage and walked to a bakery as church bells rang out the joy of a just performed wedding, men and women making their ways about town for shopping and visiting atop bicycles, and pleasant sights and aromas assaulted the senses with the greatest contentment. Now adequately caffeinated and feed I was able to address a problem whose solution evaded me the night before.  All interior lights were not working.  The engine ran but lighting was not.  We had ransacked our memories on the instructions we had received, searched in vane the German language vehicle manual, and considered turning back to get it repaired.  Giving myself one more chance to figure it out we found that a switch allowing 12 volt power to lights had been inexplicably moved.   European RV’s are different from American in many ways.  In the US we have a small 31 foot class C.  In Europe we rented a very large 21 foot caravan.  In addition to the shorter length it is also much lower in height and fully 3 feet narrower.  They use a cassette type toilet system that is surprisingly better than what we use in the states.  On board water storage is very adequate if showering is not expected in the vehicle.  And, of course, the electric is very different.   Czech Republic: Our route through the remaining areas of Bavaria and into Bohemia (Eastern Czech Republic) were as idyllic as could be hoped for.  Bavarian architecture slowly gave way to the red tiled roofs of Bohemia.  Crossing the border was too easy.  We showed our passports for a second and then were waved on.  We had to remind ourselves to request a visa stamp for souvenir purposes, to request an Autobahn pass (which is required to dive on their better highways – basically it is a toll pass) and to change money.   On arrival in Praha a short time later we worked our way to a fuel station to purchase our first tank full.  Short distances and high mileage vehicles make driving in Europe less expensive than the converted price per gallon would suggest.  We paid 30 crowns per litre, which comes to $6 per gallon.  Double the price in the US but this vehicle gets nearly double the mileage.  It cost $80 to fill up.  It would have been about $8 per gallon in Bavaria.  The fuel station included a uniformed working young man who could not have been over the age of 14.  It seemed he was the son of the owners but it was run in the manner of a chain.  All very clean, crisp and professional.  His English was better than anyone else so I asked him about a campground.  We were referred to the Branik Hostel and Camp on the East side of the Vtlava river south of the central city.  With little difficulty we found the Branik area and the river itself was unmistakable but finding the entrance to the campground eluded us for a short time.  Driving about in a relatively large vehicle on narrow streets in a formerly industrial area was unsettling.  As it turned out two Praha Policemen on bicycle guided us.  The camp area and the hostel had separate entrances.  If we had understood this then we would have had no difficulty whatsoever. The camping area is immediately beside the river, which is broad and swift flowing (in late spring anyway) and across from us was a significant hill with some fine homes on it.  The campground is gated with a leftover from the cold war era but painted to be pleasant.  The attendant was a kindly older gentleman who spoke decent English.  He required my International Drivers License as surety for payment and directed me to the spots with electric.  Camping rates are all ala carte in that each distinction has its own rate. Number of adults a rate for each, children each a less but separate rate, the type of vehicle – ours the highest rate, electric another charge, use of showers and dump station (per se) another charge.  Add in the sale of tram tickets and we were at 1200 crowns!  This equates to $60 for two nights.  Not a bargain but not bad for most US locations.  Add in that this location was on a major river, within a major city, breathtaking vistas, and short walk uphill to the tram station for a ten-minute ride to the central city and I felt quite good about it. Efforts to hook up to electric for the first time took a turn to the absurd for a while.  Negotiating the 3 distinct cords and the very odd looking connections was trouble enough.  Upon making the connection we plugged in the converter we purchased in the US and to it a power strip we brought with us.  My intent was to plug in my laptop to charge as well as my rental cell phone.  No sooner than it was all together the indicator light showing we had a power failure.  Presuming the campground had faulty equipment I inquired of the attendant who opened his electric box at the site and found that the circuit breaker had been thrown.  Switching it my wife found the indicator light on for but a moment.  The attendant suggested the problem was with the caravan but he could look at the manual as he could read German.  As he perused the manual I finally found the circuit beaker in the vehicle and it also had been thrown.  It seems the power strip itself had caused the difficulties.  We now plug in only one item per converter.  So much for my economizing on converter purchases.  We also brought a vehicle lighter/110 volt converter from home used to power my laptop for my daughters DVD viewing.  Another mistake as European lighters are different.  Those items that could not be used (and should not have been brought) were stowed in the underneath stowage. 

On to the central city

 The tram system works well and its numbering system and route maps are like any American city with such a system.  It is the primary transportation mode for everyone.  While the roads are wide enough and parking is possible for a fee driving makes no sense even if our vehicle was not oversized.  We started with Wenceslaus Square, a broad and crowded area with innumerable shops.  My intention was to go but had little interest beyond seeing it.  It was also convenient as the tram stop to switch to the underground is located there as well.  Only one stop underground and we are in the old city.  We came up near St. Nicholas Hussite church where we bought tickets for the concert that evening.  Then walked to the Huss memorial and throughout the old city.  Baroque architecture and the several museums are the tourist choice of the day.  Lunch around the corner at a bar with less than family friendly cartoons on the wall and we were once again about town.  At lunch we shared a table with two young ladies from France.  One of the two had been robbed of her purse with passport and all the other items ordinarily kept in such.  Pickpockets are all too common in Praha.  One must use the pouches tucked into the shirt and pants, which cannot be easily stolen.  My daughter and I each carried a backpack with guidebooks and water bottles.  If stolen the thief would have little and we would be spared the grief of being held up for actual valuables.  My wife carried the camera with an over the shoulder and head strap in which the camera hung exactly where the hand most comfortably rests. At one point I found a girl sneaking a peek into the back (empty) flap of my daughter’s backpack.  Caught, she quickly departed.  Needless to say a little care can prevent a lot of hardship.  Praha would do well to increase police patrol in such popular areas.  We also heard of a counterfeiting scam regarding a 2000 crown note that seems not to exist.  The astronomical clock is a wonder to behold but it seems the top of the hour exhibition is nothing to exert oneself to see except at noon. The Tyne church would have been of greatest interest except that our timing was slightly off.  We missed the last time of entrance by about ten minutes.  We were able to look in and I enjoyed the gothic architecture.  Walking to and fro the many attractions filled our afternoon to return to the old town square in time for a wonderful, long, narrow hot dog for dinner before going into the concert.  Sitting in the minimalist pews with fixed kneeling rails in this Hussite, pre-protestant Reformation, Protestant church awaiting a string orchestra after a day of strenuous activity lead inevitably to an excessive attention to the backs of my eyelids.  Each of us drifted off but the sound escaping me alerted all around us, and my wife blamed it on jet lag.  This was, of course prior to the start of the concert but the urge to nod did not end.  The concert (or my dream thereof) was quite pleasant. The following day was dedicated to the castle quarter and the little quarter on the other side of the river.   The “A” ticket is well worth the price as is the audio guide.   Visiting the castle grounds one finds St. Vitus Cathedral to be a dramatic and beautiful example of gothic architecture and many fine examples of baroque art.  What should be understood about these cathedrals is that they were built to be a community of faith.  The design with many differing chapels, nooks and crannies were all expected to be simultaneously used for different purposes.  The vibrancy and activity of faith flies in the face of the ordinary American custom of being very quiet and paying attention to what the guy up front is doing. I personally enjoyed the views of the city from the courtyard in front of what is now the Presidential Palace.  The red tiled roofs span nearly the entire city both contemporary and aged.  I was privileged to visit with the audio guide concessionaire.  In our discussion I asked about the current status of the palace and he responded with significant pride that it is being used for the President and executive offices.  He further related his appreciation of the new President’s stand against the European Union.  His comment was that the Czech’s had worked too hard for independence to give it up.  I am pleased that Europeans are beginning to treasure the uniqueness of their cultures and the sovereignty of their nations. We completed the day with our first visit to the Charles Bridge.  I recommend this course, as every other time we found crowds that would prevent any enjoyment.  The late afternoon crowds are workable and the light is great.  Views off the bridge in every direction are spectacular. We also had opportunity to visit with a couple from Spain.  They related the difficulties of their nation.  First on the list of priorities was concern regarding the increasing number of illegal aliens. Moravia: Driving into the Moravian region of Czech we found differences to be subtle.  More farm land and less mountainous forests.  Getting off the Autobahn to roam among the villages was more effort than value produced.  The villages we drove among consisted largely of Cold War era concrete housing.  In these cases they were seldom more than two or three stories and had pitched roofs so at a distance they have a quaint appeal but up close there is the unmistakable vision of deteriorating and flaking concrete housing all attached one to another.  Churches and businesses were few and far between while government related buildings seemed to be more numerous than is utilized.  Such churches as we did see were of the Baroque era and had seen better days.  The days of Moravians sending missionaries all over the world and converting the likes of John Wesley are certainly distant memories if they are memories at all.  We had lunch in a tavern, which may not have seen an American for years and an Oklahoman ever.  Returning to the main highway I was reminded that the large truck traffic is the majority of all traffic.   Poland: Differences were anything but subtle when entering Poland.  Gone are the vast expanses of farmland and tightly packed villages and in their place are very small farms with single-family homes more commonplace.  One does not enter Poland from Czech and spend much time observing the farm country.  Quickly one finds themselves in a nearly endless semi-urban state.  Worse roads and traffic lights every couple of kilometers, patched and re-patched asphalt greeted us in short order. From Biesko-Bialla through Katovice and all the way to Chestachowa we found urbanism with the kind of dark sooty industrial existence one expects from the old Eastern block.   Finding ones way through Chestachowa is very difficult unless you are fortunate enough to be following one of the many tour busses.  It is not a large city but it looks and feels like Chicago through and through.  The tour busses go only one place, Jasni Gory.  This shrine of Catholicism, Polish-ness and genuine (if occasionally odd) devotion is the only thing to see or do in Chestachowa.    One cannot understand Poland without an appreciation for the Catholic Church and its connection to the nation.  Jasni Gory is as Polish as Polish can be.  It is the Alamo, Lourdes, Independence Hall, and the NYC twin tower remains all wrapped into one definition of Poland.  Medieval monastery, church, and fortress; Jasni Gory was the last unconquered part of Poland during one of many invasions.  In this case the Swedes had conquered all of Poland and worked to burn out the holdouts.  The population gathered in the church and prayed for deliverance as their knights battled valiantly.  Miraculously the site was saved and the Polish people rose up as they saw that this time the invader could be stopped.  Many miracles are attributed to the Byzantine icon that has become such a symbol of Poland.  Not being Catholic I cannot vouch for all the miracles but being Polish I must admit the one presented above.  Chestachowa is a must for anyone wanting a true understanding of Poland.  My eyes did not stay dry as I joined those peering into the distance at the icon on display.  In my case, I used a pair of high-powered binoculars to see the detail of the picture and the artistry surrounding it. Departing for Kracow we found traffic to be lighter than coming up so I would have to recommend avoiding the areas previously mentioned. One comes into Poland’s greatest tourism city searching to find the quaint village of history.  However, I found a thriving metropolis of almost a million souls.  We found a fine campground nestled between two parks and a row of concrete apartment towers.  These towers are distinct from the plain gray concrete ones you often see on TV in that they are painted white with each tower having stripes of a single distinct color.  This, I suppose, is designed to prevent mistakenly walking into the wrong building. The campground is in the former and historic village of Clapardia but nothing remains of the old village as far as I have seen.   The walk to the bus stop is very short and across the street is a super market.  Around the corner from the market is a polish restaurant with very authentic food and monolingual employees.  This convenience makes all the difference.   Getting to the old city is not as easy as it was for Praha for two reasons.  The locals are less likely to speak English and the guidebook we had used was not accurate.  This meant more walking than would be expected.  The nature of Slavic words to have multiple consonants without what would be the proper quantity of vowels and the length of many Polish words left me lost repeatedly.  Once we arrived in the main square we were awed by the beauty, spaciousness and activity within it.  The city museum at the north end of the square has a very good display of historical artifacts.  Various weapons of war and sport fill the entry gallery.  Succeeding galleries include paintings of many historic Cracovians.  Several exhibits reveal the vitality of the cities guilds in days gone bye.  Another area reveals the impact of Taduesz Cosiuscho and the short lived Krakow Republic during the period in which most of Poland had been annexed by Prussia, Austria, and Russia. St. Mary’s church is, to me, the ultimate in high Gothic.  From the exterior it is simple yet beautiful.  Inside it is simply spectacular!  At the top of each hour a trumpeter sounds the same signal as was done the day the invading Swedes took possession of Krakow.  He ends mid-note at the same point the trumpeter of that fateful day ended due to an arrow taking his life.   Cloth Hall was a disappointment as most of the vendors sold the kitschy kind of souvenirs. The upper floors were closed off due to construction.  The central square is filled with tourist related businesses some of which are high priced and low value but others are quite important.  Checking emails at one of the several internet cafes was a welcome opportunity.  One or two Zloty’s (30 to 60 cents) for a quarter to half hour is a great value.  There are many other churches and examples of medieval to rococo design to feast the eyes on.  The streets from the square lead to many other squares and the prices tend to drop as one moves from the main square.  For ‘meat and potato’ Americans traditional Polish food is a wonder.  Others who prefer finer cuisine will tire of Polish dishes quickly.  As a person who can’t get enough pierogies I wholeheartedly recommend Polonia Smaky which is a ‘milk bar’ type restaurant.  You order at the counter cafeteria style and can feed a feast to a sightseeing weakened family for about $10.  We could never finish it all. Two great sites need planning.  Wawel Castle and the Jagellonian University Museum.  Each requires reservations or at least advance ticket purchase.  The castle grounds may be freely visited and one can pick and choose a few exhibits to pay as you go.  Due to time constraints this is the mode we chose.  The Archdiocene museum is too often overlooked.  Believe me, it is a jewel not to be missed.   Jagellonian University was founded in the mid 1300’s and with brief interludes otherwise has continually operated since.  With 40,000 more students that the original buildings were designed to handle the university now does without a central campus.  The original buildings house the museum exhibitions.  With former students ranging from Copernicus to Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtila at the time) the university has tremendous items to exhibit.  The museum includes items used by Copernicus that were old when he first touched them (as early as 1084) to an 1890’s Krakow telephone directory (one page) the range of items is quite broad.  The scientific exhibition items are of the greatest interest as well as the history of how such an institution operated and adapted over time.   One final piece of information.  While the public transportation system works efficiently it does not stop as often as you may wish and its cost is not a dramatic savings over a taxi if you are traveling with your family.  Ten Zloty’s worth of bus transit would cost seventeen in a taxi.  At day’s end the taxi is well worth it. Wieliczka: 

Now effectively a suburb of Krakow, Wieliczka is a salt mine town from the middle ages and a tourist town for two hundred years.  The salt mine is easy to find and the tour cost is high as Polish prices go but not exceptional considering a tour guide is required.  The tour is one of those requisite things like going to New York and seeing the Statue of Liberty.  I found it delightful and the highlight, the church, is amazing.

Slovakia:

Leaving Wieliczka toward Slovakia we head into the least tread territory for tourists, especially English speaking ones.  The roads are mountainous and occasionally one lane.  While in Poland you find more small farms and few village or city centers.  Upon crossing into Slovakia the country becomes more rustic and the mountains more rigorous.  Comparisons to C. S. Lewis’ Narnia become nearly unavoidable after seeing the castle (hrad) at Stara Lubovna.  Lush forests hug close to the road to the point of fully covering over it.  The large city of Propad is industrial and heavily Soviet in style and substance.  Here was the one exception to the rule regarding finding campgrounds.  We opted to stay in the finest hotel in town.  The Hotel Proprad is dark because electricity costs money.  They seem to think that leaving the lights on for you is a waste.  It gets worse as when you arrive up the elevator to your floor you must have someone hold the door while you search for the light switch for the hallway.  Find your room and you find cheap plywood furniture upholstered in low-end carpeting.  Everything in the same carpet, the tables, the bed, even the wall!  The TV is tiny and the English from the dubbed American shows was indecipherable.  The bathrooms need to be avoided.  If you leave your room in the evening you will have to once again find the light switch as they will turn it off only moments after you turn it on.  There are a couple of nice restaurants in Proprad and the food is much like polish.    Language is just a bit easier for Americans as the pronunciation has less finesse than other Slavic languages.  I really love Slovakia and would choose it above another of the countries visited to live in as it made me comfortable, or perhaps I was just getting used to being in Europe.

Hungary opens up to a great plain and the climate warms significantly.  Budapest is not far from the border and seems to be the only place to go for tourists.  Two things come to mind at this point.  Someone, someday needs to find the time to find the less touristed parts of Europe and reveal them to Americans.  Many of the little wonders of this place are taken as nothing special to the people who have had them many times longer than we have had our nation.  The second is the food in Hungary.  I wanted to experience authentic local cuisine.  After repeatedly trying we were finally told that Hungarians don’t eat Hungarian food at restaurants.  “Hungarian food is for tourists” we were told!  Here we are in the most touristed part of Centeral Europe and somehow we could not find the kind of food that they say is for us.  We ate Irish, Greek, and American food.  Budapest is very international.  The central city (cities, as Pest and Buda really are different cities) is a beautiful and pleasant as anything we found.  Hungarians speak English as often as not.  We stayed in a campground beside a Roman spa ruin.  Aqueducts and other Roman ruins a strewn about everywhere they didn’t get in the way of the public transit or anything else.  Tourist books go on at great length about the wonders of Budapest.  We found it to be a city that would be easy to spend a Summer and then wonder how the time past so quickly.  We stayed a day longer than planned and stopped beside the Danube at a particularly pleasant part of the morning to take it all in before moving on. 

 Bratislava:   

Having spent the extra day, we were unable to spend the night we had planned in Bratislava.  Only enough time to stop shortly at the castle.  I figured that I could find where the tour busses park and could visit the castle before moving on to Austria.  Actually, I would like to spend much more time in this wonderful city only a hop, skip and an abandoned Iron Curtain from Vienna.  The busses, it seems, don’t park.  I dropped off my wife at the castle and proceeded with my daughter to find some kind of place to park.  Following the path that is clearly set before me we descended the high ground of the city center and found the street growing ever narrower without a point to turn off.  Quickly becoming a one lane, one way path with cars parked on both sides of the street (on the sidewalks which is common here) we found ourselves following a train of cars who one by one turned right off the street and into the parking garage of the Hilton Hotel.  One problem, the street was closed off at that point by construction and we were forced to join the train into the garage.  Well, two problems, we were to tall for the garage.  Finding no way out I wondered at the prospect of trying to back out of the hotel entrance and all the way back up the hill in reverse without hitting anything.  I tried several times to turn around and go back up the wrong way but found the obstacles always found a way to block us.  Finally the street workers motioned for me to back up over the large hole in the street with the intention of giving me room to turn around.  A large heavy metal plate was cantilevered over the hole and I would have to back over it and to the point that several feet of the back end of the vehicle would be a second layer of cantilever above the hole but without the plate under.    As precarious as this might sound in reality it was much worse.  As I backed up and my daughter at the back told me first that I was now over the steel plate then that she was looking down on the hole and a lunching worker, then her squeal as she rushed to the front of the vehicle fearing she would fall in as if the front would not fall the same as the back.  Suddenly, I felt the rear wheels slipping and then the back end fell sharply.  I threw it into neutral and pulled the parking brake.  Yes, it is a stick shift, try to find an automatic and you will spend too much.  I ran out and found that I was not in the hole but still a couple of feet from it.  Some construction materials were stacked where my rear wheel was going and after climbing on them I actually created a sandwich and squeezed the middle out throwing a piece of plywood to a humored and amicable street worker.  I pulled forward slightly and removed the remaining items then backed up again until the pleasant looks went from encouraging me to continue back and switched to worried looks and workers abandoning the site.  I had gone back as far a possible.  Now was time to move forward and turn as much as possible.  This put me in line for the front steps of the Hilton.  I drove forward and began to climb the steps when I had to stop well short of the lobby as a stop sign was now pressing against my windshield.  Time to back up again!  Yeah, I made it out and up the hill the wrong way with, surprisingly, no oncoming traffic.  Arriving back at the castle for my wife she got in with aggravation at the length of time we were gone and without having accomplished the goal.  Not till the night of our departure would we tell of this adventure.

Heading into Austria was made difficult, as finding a way to have our passports stamped was a major endeavor.  The EU had during our trip removed the border guards.  Once found we were pretty much in Vienna or Vien as it actually is.  Castles, museums and churches are the tourist options and in Vien they are without parallel.  Shonbrun, the Hofburg, the Spanish Riding School (which is at the Hofburg), are not to be missed.  The history of how the Hapsburgs got the Holy Roman Empire and then the Austro-Hungarian consists more of their happy inheritance of the Bohemian crown than the long-term strategy of noble marriages.  Nonetheless, Vien is even more an international city than any we had seen.  The city was too urbane and the people cold.  I found little there to attract me to anything but the great sites.  I was happy to leave but enriched by what I found. 

Salzburg was a more Austrian experience.  Views cannot be described and the palace is worth its weight in salt.  We just found ourselves low on time and needing to return to Munchen.  I wish we had spent time in the villages and less in the cities.  If I get to return to Europe, I vow to find the “hidden Europe” that lives in the country and small towns or out of the way cities.

Europe changed me.  I really didn’t expect that.  I also grew in my appreciation of the people and the heritage of the place.  I would also say that comments that Europe is in a post Christian era are over stated.  The sincere Christian devotion of the peoples of the lands we visited exceeded what I often see in the US.  It also seems to be more ingrained in the culture.

Perhaps one finds the highly publicized secular Europe in other nations, but I hope that despite the homogenization of the EU the distinctions continue to be appreciated and the history revered.